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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Reclaiming My Blog!

I want to tell you about a new direction I am taking for my blog. I am very happy that I took some time to stop and rethink about why I am blogging. I want to share why I did this and what I have discovered. I am considering this my very first post for;

Wellness Wednesday

Until now I have been blogging by just following along with whatever has been going on in the community of bloggers that I follow. While I have felt very secure in this little group of of bloggers, (yes, we are only a small portion of the blogging world) and I have enjoyed developing and renewing my creativity in ways I hadn't imagined, I have allowed blogging to take over my life rather then reflect my life. How did this happen? I have two theories here; 1.) I think it was because I was too busy trying to keep up with all the partys I enjoyed joining in. They were a lot of fun and exposure but not always convenient to my own schedule. 2.) I didn't have my own guidelines set in place already. Basically, I have been blogging for my readers but not necessarily for myself always. I didn't even know this was so important to me, but boy do I believe so now! Let me tell you why!

Blogging too much for your readers can be a double edged sword. While it may help you to increase your blog numbers and make you feel great, it can also enslave you to what others want to see. Let me explain, we all want our readers to be interested in our blog and continue to follow but it can be quite unsettling when you find yourself in the midst of a fall from grace. Suddenly, the comments aren't there from those you are used to hearing from or they are few and far between when they do come. Then you find out you are no longer on someones blog roll because they are just not that into you. Why? Who knows? It can be a fickle world out there in blog land! It's especially hard when you thought that someone was a real friend and would support you always with your own blog. Yep, it can happen! It can make you question every blog friend you ever have and their motives. It is a very awful place to be and can literally suck the joy right out of you and your blog. I know this because that is what happened to me.

I know some may think I'm being negative to speak about this, but the truth is I am a realist. I always have been so and do NOT live with rose colored glasses on, my life has never allowed me that luxury! I have however, attempted to let my blog survive that way by attempting to keep everything pretty and appealing all the time. Funny thing is, it didn't work for me! I don't always have pretty things going on and that is not my whole world, so why was I trying so hard to keep my blog that way? IDK! Maybe, I was too afraid to leave the comforts of the community of bloggers I have come to know, maybe I was afraid of more rejection if I venture out on my own. Maybe I just hadn't put that much thought into it at all until now. Why now?

Because under the weight of my own personal trials and endeavors that are going on in my personal life combined with the negativity in our own blog community that everyone has been posting about caused me to collapse. It has caused me to question my motives and every one else's too. It made me question if I have done anything wrong. Seriously?

Then it occurred to me, if I had really done anything wrong, it was that I have been blogging FOR everyone else. I was not really showing my readers who I truly am, by following the crowd! Also, that I have been letting my blog monopolize all of my time to do so. By understanding this small but crucial detail I realized how easy it is for others to develop their own perceptions of how one may or may not be based only on what they have seen on your blog. Without taking the time to truly get to know another blogger, it's easy to make assumptions based on what you read, even though we all know what they say about assuming.

I now consider it a blessing to have gone through this most recent slump in my blog life. I think somebody must have been praying for me! Fortunately, any time you shine a light into the darkness you show things that originally you could not see. What I had not seen was that because I was trying to please my followers too much, I was not pleasing myself.

This is my blog and I own it, well me and blogger anyway! LOL! From here on out I blog as I please, when I please and about what I please, and if you are still following me, God bless you! I have given myself a schedule to follow that I hope will help me manage my time blogging and may also better help my followers really know whom I am. This is not my own idea, I have seen many bloggers doing this, making their own schedules. Sure wish I had done this from the start! My guidelines may change over time, but here's the new schedule I created for myself for now. I have also put these on my tabs page with more explanation, so here's what I intend to follow;

Sunday- Sharing Jesus

Monday- Mary's Meditating Mind

Tuesday- Take a look Tuesday

Wednesday- Wellness Wednesday

Thursday- Tablescaping Dreams

Friday-Free Fridays

Saturday-Skip A day

I may join a few partys again eventually, but for the most part I have decided to pull back on most all of them except for one that I have always truly enjoyed over the past year. I even committed a whole day just for it. I may not ever be amongst the best of the table scapers out there and may not even participate every Thursday, but I will not give up something that I found has brought me so much joy in my life.

I plan to blog only as I feel the urge to do so, using the guidelines set forth. This means I may or may not blog daily. Some days I may blog more often then others some days not so much, but you will know what to expect on those days when I do. I am in control now and if you are here I hope you will enjoy it, but if you leave I will still carry on because this is my blog!

Thank you so much to those of you who continue to follow and support my blog. Atleast, now I know if you are here it is because you want to follow ME. Now do you understand why I am considering this a Wellness Wednesday post? Because for me to continue enjoying my blog, it's got to truly reflect ME.Free Fridays will most likely keep you updated on my life's goings on's, including my new business. There's still time to enter my giveaway here, if you missed it though.

I am very happy to be restoring "JOY" to my blog life, and hope you will enjoy too!